Why Trevor Noah Can Never Fit Into Jon Stewart’s Shoes

Comedy Central had replaced the renowned host of its cult late night news satire and talk show, Jon Stewart with a South African comedian Trevor Noah three years back. The move created an instant outrage. And, the obnoxious sentiments still persist even today owing to the kind of guy Noah is.

The problem perhaps isn’t basically with Trevor Noah himself. It’s rather the culture that takes in everything in the name of comedy. Perhaps back then, things would have been more acceptable, and ignorance had been more prevalent. This is; however, not the case anymore. Social reflexes are much more amenable, and things entertainment must carefully be filtered out after thorough scrutiny.

Noah is far from being quick witted, skilled, masterful, or even funny. The word used for him is ‘offensive’ these days. That’s the exact opposite of what Jon Stewart was. Everything that made Stewart an icon amongst the recent graduates of America is missing from Trevor Noah.

Noah is the last person the audience would want to see as Stewart. He isn’t at all Stewart. His take on daily events endeavors to follow the genius but he fails. Because Jon Stewart effortlessly mocked the country’s problems in a way that didn’t seem offensive to anyone. It’s a lot different with Trevor Noah,

Noah is extremely disinterested in American politics. He doesn’t just only fall short in knowledge when compared to Jon Stewart, his stage acts are often more improvised than invented. Credibility of media outlets does not at all matter to him. He will sail on a single perspective throughout the entire episode and will pay no heed to the feasibilities and the limitations of the topic.

Noah does not inventively criticize mainstream media, rather he builds on upon the blueprint Jon Stewart has already laid for him. His take on the recent electoral campaign was beyond ingenious. And, his ignorance rendered actually to some extent, the rise of Trump in America.

Noah fails to understand what satire is. He handles a talk show as a sitcom often slipping into chasms that have nothing to do with America at all. The list of virulent anti-Noah critiques is so long that they themselves account for their own satire. Noah is just the perfect example of the deteriorating state of political discourse in America. His show which has now exhausted its creative fumes, needs a revamp, a cleanup, or perhaps even a closure.